The Unexpected
by Elizabeth L. Sullivan
Summary: Clarke was left behind on Earth during Praimfiya. Five years and seven months later, Raven, Bellamy, Harper, Monty, John, Emori, and Echo return to the earth as planned. What happens when they realize Clarke is still alive? Bellarke Fanfic (rewritten)
1. chapter one

He let a single tear roll down his cheek as he watched Praimfiya consume the earth. She was gone. Clarke was dead. Bellamy wiped his eyes. He wanted to scream. He wanted breakdown. He wanted to have her back with him. He would give anything to go back down and to save her, but it was too late. She was gone, and by now, the earth was consumed by fire and radiation just as the sun.

He reminded himself of the five years until he could return to Earth. It seemed so far away from now. Five years until Clarke's death would no longer be for nothing. Five years until he saw his sister again. _May we meet again_ , he thought. He rested his fist against the thick glass window.

He questioned the meaning of the phrase. It was a sentence that gave people a sense of hope to one day be reunited with their friends, families, loved ones. He looked at it as false hope. He'd never see Clarke again. Not unless he was dead, and there were life after death.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"She saved us again," Raven said. She stood next to Bellamy and stared at the fiery earth below. "I know how you felt about her, and you can't blame yourself like I blamed her for Finn's death. I regret ever trying to hate her for killing him."

"I left her behind, Reyes," Bellamy sniffed as his nose ran and his eyes watered. "She trusted me. I- I didn't protect her- not like I should've."

"It's not your fault, Bellamy. If she could go back in time, you know she'd do it again. If it meant saving everyone, especially you, she would. She was protecting you because she knew you could take us back down and lead us." She rubbed his arm and hugged him. "Now, she's trusting you to pull through and take us back in five years. She really loved you. Anyone could see that."

Five years. That really seemed so far away to him. He didn't want to think about the future. It was a future without Clarke, and it wasn't there without her. She was dead. His world was shattered. There was no future.

"What is it the Grounders say?" Raven asked looking up at Bellamy.

"Yu gonplei ste odon, Clarke kom Skaikru," Echo said as she walked up. Monty, Harper, John, and Emori silently followed.

Bellamy fixed his eyes back on the earth. He let another tear roll down his cheek. "Yu gonplei ste odon." He said. The others repeated.

"I couldn't thank her enough for the countless times she's saved my life," Harper said.

"All of our lives," Monty added as he placed his arm around Harper. She placed her head on his shoulder.

"She was brave and relentless- dedicated to saving her people," Echo stated.

"Forgiving," Murphy joked. "I can't tell how many second chances she gave me."

"She was stubborn," Bellamy said. A faint smile crept across his lips as he recalled all the times he and Clarke bickered when they first came down to Earth. He couldn't stand being around her, but now he would give anything just to know if she had miraculously survived. He recalled the times they looked to each other for the opposite's advice and approval; the times they comforted each other after Mount Weather. He remembered the moment he realized he loved her and all of the moments that he almost told her.

"She and Dad put up with all one hundred of us and all our crap," Monty said smiling. The five Skaikru let out a small teary-eyed laugh. Bellamy had almost forgotten that they had once called them that.

They all stood and stared at the earth before them. Each silently mourned the loss of their friend, leader, and savior. Each silently vowed to never forget her and who she was.

"She was Clarke," Raven said.


	2. chapter two

**five years and seven months later**

"Everyone ready?" Raven asked looking around. Five heads nodded in response.

"Where the hell is Bellamy?"

Once again, they were making history. Once again they were returning to earth. Once again, Bellamy was absent.

"It's Bellamy. Where else do you think he would be?" John said. Raven rolled her eyes. She was ready to figuratively kill him.

"Just, everyone wait here and make sure you've got everything. I'll go get him," Raven said. She was stressed. They were running low on oxygen. They had to leave in an hour, or according to her and Monty's calculations, they would miss Eden. What stressed her out the most was that everyone was ready to leave except Bellamy.

Her brace failed to slow her down as she stormed through the halls. She stopped she when came to his door. Some point within the last five years, he had scratched _stay out_ on the gray, metal door.

"Bellamy, get up! Everyone's ready, but you." She shouted. The room reeked of alcohol.

"Reyes, get the hell out of my room!" Bellamy shouted back. He threw his head back along with remaining contents of the glass bottle. She was shocked there was even any left, but he had managed to find it somehow.

"No, Bellamy, you need to get whatever you want to take now, so that we all can leave."

"I'm staying here," he said. His head was still tilted back against the wall, and his eyes were closed.

"Like hell you are, Bellamy Blake."

"Why? What's the point? She's dead. There's nothing left for me on that planet."

"What about your sister?"

"She's spent the last five years without me; I'm sure she doesn't need me anymore."

"Fine. Stay here then. Forget your sister; forget Clarke," she paused. "You know, she died so that you and the rest of mankind could have a chance at survival. She trusted you with this. Did her death really not mean anything to you? Did you even care about her?" Raven knew it was harsh, but she was fed up, and he needed to listen. She knew she had crossed a line, and she knew she had struck a nerve. Raven knew he loved Clarke more than life itself, and she didn't mean her words.

"You don't get to say that. You do _not_ get to talk about her!" Bellamy raised his voice.

"You are not the only one who lost her!" She felt a small tears welding in her eyes. "She was my best friend, and we all lost her! You have spent the last five and a half years grieving, and drinking, or whatever it is that you've been doing! The rest of us- we didn't get to do that. We had to survive because she didn't!" He looked down at the ground. He scratched the beard on his chin.

"I loved her," he said. He buried his head in his hands, and let out a soft cry. Raven walked over to him and sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you did."

"I'm sorry, Raven, about everything. I haven't exactly been helpful around here."

"Tell me about it," Raven joked. "Look, I'm sorry too. I crossed a line with what I said. I really didn't mean that."

"I know. It was harsh, but I probably needed to hear it."

"You did," Raven slapped her hands on both her thighs before standing up. "So, you coming with us?"

"I guess, but only because I don't have anything else left to drink," Bellamy joked. It was the first time he had smiled in a long time.

"I'm just shocked you never ran out sooner." Raven smiled back.

"Shut up, Reyes."

"I will if you do something with that," she said as pointed to his face.

"With what?"

"Everything. The smell, the hair, the beard- you've got to do something with yourself. When we open that bunker, they might mistake you for Azgeda."

"Fine. I'll shave."

"and you'll let me cut your hair?"

"No. The hair stays."

"Bellamy."

"Fine."

—

"Monty, everything ready to go?" Raven asked as she and Bellamy approached the waiting group.

"Yeah everything's set. T-minus 10 minutes."

"Woah," John said, "Who are you and what have you done with Bellamy Blake?" Bellamy rolled his eyes and everyone laughed.

"He cleans up nice doesn't he?" Raven said. She crossed her arms and gave a proud look.

"Glad I'm back to being the only roach up here," John smirked.

"And I'm not glad you're back to making me want to punch you in the face, Murphy," Bellamy. He slapped Murphy on the back as he walked by.

"Ouch," Monty said as he looked over at John.

"We can keep talking or we can go home," Raven said. She passed everyone and limped to the control panels.

"Let's go home," Bellamy said smiling.


	3. chapter three

She sat on the hood of the rover watching the little girl play in the grass with her dolls. The child's skin was tan and looked as if it had been kissed by the sun.

Her curly, golden locks of hair shined brightly in the sunlight and ran down slightly above her waist. When she turned to look at her mother, her smile grew wider. She was the perfect combination of her parents. The tanned-skinned, blue-eyed, freckle-faced four-year-old inherited more than just her parents' looks. She was artistic, protective, stubborn, determined, and smart.

Clarke smiled as she watched her daughter giggle. She heard her mumble something in Trigedasleng. Clarke taught her both languages. She picked up the radio and mashed the button to speak.

"It's been safe for over six months now. Where are you Bellamy? Can you even hear me at all? It's been five and a half years since I last saw you. Did you forget about me? Are you even alive anymore? I miss all of you guys, especially you the most, Bell."

The last five years had been hard for Clarke. She survived Praimfiya, and Clarke gave credit to the nightblood for saving her. The first few months were rough. Her body had been covered in burns from the radiation. She had been throwing up constantly; however, Clarke had soon learned radiation wasn't the primary cause. She had not even realized she was pregnant until she realized she was growing quickly after not eating properly. She had even blamed her missed cycles on the radiation.

She was shocked that she didn't have a miscarriage or that she even carried to term. She was terrified of the possible complications and outcomes. Clarke was alone with no one to help her. Her mother wasn't there to help her. Bellamy wasn't there to hold her hand. She reminded herself of all that she had survived and knew she could survive this. She sobbed for hours when she saw how much the child resembled its father. But she looked at the little girl and instantly knew her name.

Aurora because of the woman both Bellamy and Octavia spoke highly of. She the times that Bellamy told stories about his mother. This woman sacrificed her life for her daughter's life. _It's what Bellamy would want_ , she told herself.

 _Belle_ because she wanted the child to grow up remembering her father if he were unable to return to Earth. Clarke knew the moment she first saw the child that she would be just like her father— stubborn, determined, and protective. In Clarke's mind, it was only fit to name her daughter _Aurora Belle Griffin-Blake_.

"I wish you could see her. She's beautiful, Bell. Auri looks just like you."

Clarke felt the ground rattle when she heard a sonic boom. She looked up to the sky.

"You're here!" She said into the radio as she grinned. She put it in the rover and ran to her daughter.

"Auri, come get in the rover! It's time to go!"

"Sha, Nomon!" _Yes, mother._

"Someone special is waiting for you, ai goufa."


	4. chapter four

Clarke pulled up to the village. She turned around to face her daughter sitting in the back of the rover.

"Chit ste em, Nomon?" The four-year-old asked. _What is it mother?_

"Spacekru, Goufa." Clarke smiled. A smile crept across the child's face.

"Really, Nomon?" The child asked with excited.

"Yes, now go inside. I'll be back before dark."

* * *

Tires came to a screeching halt when she came across the drop ship. It was smaller than the original one. This time it carried seven instead of one hundred and one. She reached into the back of the rover and pulled out a long piece of worn fabric. She wrapped it over her head and her face to protect it from the scorching sun and blowing sand. She pulled Jasper's goggles over her eyes to shield them. She stepped out and slowly approached the drop ship. Her heart beat grew louder and faster with every step.

She was excited. She was nervous. She was happy. She was terrified. Clarke was about to see another person other than her child for the first time in over five years. They all probably thought she was was dead. Had Bellamy moved on? What would he say about Aurora?

She had imaged reuniting with him over the last five and a half years. But what if it were nothing like she had imagined?

Clarke opened the door and gasped. They all looked so different, so much older. She stepped in and ran to Bellamy. She knelt down in front of his face. She unwrapped the cloth from around her face and draped it around her neck. His eyes were closed. Slowly, Clarke ran her hands across his face hoping to wake him up. Instead, she felt a sense of familiarity. Flashbacks flooded her memory.

She heard a groan and turned her head. John slowly raised his head and looked around. He froze when he saw her. He immediately burst into laughter.

"Geez, and they call me the cockroach."

"You don't know how glad I am to see you," Clarke said smile. When they first came to Earth, she never would have guessed that she be happy to see or hear John Murphy. She helped John out of his seat. When he stood, she wrapped her arms around him. He scratched his head and looked around. Raven slowly began to wake along with Echo, Emori, Harper, and Monty. Clarke turned around.

"Clarke?" Raven asked. She looked at John. "Am I seeing things?"

"No. It's really me." Clarke said as she smiled. Raven hugged her. Everyone surrounded her as the hugged her and smiled.

"You're alive?"

"We thought you were dead!"

"How?"

"I can't believe it's really you!"

"Clarke?"

She froze. Everyone grew silent. She knew that voice. It was the voice she would have given anything to hear over the last five years. The voice she longed to hear over the radio. She turned around to see Bellamy with tears in his eyes. The same tears quickly filled hers too. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and dug his head into her neck. "I'm so sorry, Clarke. I'm so sorry," he cried.

"It's okay." She whispered.

"No it's not. I left you behind. I left you alone to die."

"You did what you had to do, Bellamy. It doesn't matter anymore because we're both alive and together. If you need forgiveness, I'll give that to you. I forgive you, Bell, okay?" Clarke looked into his eyes. She saw sadness and grief. He cupped her face. "I forgive you."

"You're really here?" He asked in disbelief. Clarke nodded. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "You cut it?"

"It was really difficult when I had," Clarke caught herself. "It just kept getting in the way." Frankly, it was getting in the way. Aurora would pull and yank on it constantly as an infant. She told herself that this wasn't the right time to tell him, not in front of everyone else. She pressed her forehead against his. "I missed you so so much, Bell."

"I missed you too," he whispered as he raised his head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I hate to ruin the moment you two, but where are we? How are you alive? And can we get a move on?" Raven interrupted. Bellamy and Clarke turned around.

"To where? There's nothing around for miles. We crashed off course," Bellamy said. He placed his arm on her lower back. He never wanted to lose sight of her again.

"Off course from where?" Clarke asked.

"Eden. We've been watching this one green spot on the earth for years." Raven looked at Clarke, "Do you know what we're talking about?"

"I do. It's Shallow Valley."

"Louwoda Kliron Kru," Echo loudly said intending it to be to herself.

"Yeah, I found it a few months after Praimfiya, and we've been living there since."

"We? Who's we? The people from the bunker?" Raven asked.

"No, I-"

"Clarke, are there other survivors?" Bellamy asked.

"I-I no," Clarke panicked. She instantly grew nervous. _What would he say about this?_ "I need to tell you something, Bell."

"So, tell me."

"I can't. Not like this," she said looking around at the others.

"Oh, we'll be in waiting in the rover," Raven said pointing out the door over her shoulder. She turned around and followed the others out. They shut the door behind them.

"What is it, Princess?" Bellamy looked at Clarke. He could tell she was nervous, "You can tell me anything, you know that."

"I know, I just don't know how to tell you this. I've had years to think of how to, and I've always planned on telling you. I just didn't want to tell you in front of everyone."

"Just tell me," Bellamy said. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and Clarke took a deep breath.

"I have a daughter."

"What do you mean you have a daughter?"

 _"_ I mean _we_ have a daughter."


	5. chapter five

_Clarke grabbed him by the arm. She opened the the doors and pulled him in after her._

 _"Clarke, what?"_

 _"If anything happens to me-"_

 _"Nothing is happening to you. Come on. Let's run these water numbers again." He said as he turned back to face the door. Bellamy placed his hand on her lower back to let her walk out first._

 _She turned around to face him. They both became aware of how close they suddenly stood to one another._

 _"Please, Bell, I need you to hear this," Clarke said. She paused. "We've been through a lot together you and I. I didn't like you at first-that's no secret, but even then, every stupid thing you did was to protect your sister. She didn't always see that, but I did." Clarke stepped forward getting closer to him. She looked up at him. "You've got such a big heart Bellamy, and I-"_

 _"I know," Bellamy said as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. He closed the gap between then and gently traced his thumb across her cheek. "I do too."_

 _"Bell," Clarke said breathing heavily._

 _"What?" He whispered. He traced his thumb over her bottom lip. "Do you not want this?"_

 _"I do," she replied. Clarke looked down at his lips and back up into his eyes. "I love you."_

 _"I love you too," Bellamy said before he crashed his lips onto hers. She ran her fingers through his dark, curly hair. He laid her gently down on the fur rug._

"Bellamy, please, say something," Clarke begged. Bellamy's thoughts immediately jumped back from that day. He broke his stare. _Did she really just say what he thought she said?_ Bellamy couldn't believe what he heard. He was really a father.

"I-how?" He asked. He wasn't an idiot; of course, he knew how. He wasn't sure how Clarke was even able to have a pregnancy with the radiation much less how a child survived. "How did she survive the radiation?"

"Nightblood. I didn't think I could pass it on."

"What's her name?"

"Aurora Belle," she said as she looked Bellamy. He smiled knowing that his daughter had his mother's name. "I know I never knew her, but from the way that you and Octavia talked about her, I knew she was a wonderful person. Bell, Auri is a part of you, and I always want her to know that even if she could never know you. But now she will." Clarke smiled. She had happy tears in her eyes.

"Clarke," Bellamy said as he hugged her once more. He stepped back and grabbed her hand in his. They both stared into each other's eyes. He wanted to kiss her. Bellamy cleared his throat. "They're probably tired of waiting on us."

"I told her I'd be back by dark, and we're a half hour drive away. But I really, really want to just stay here in the moment with you. Bell, I missed you so much."

"I know. I do too, but we do have to go. Look, Princess, I promise we'll talk more about us when we get back. Just, tell me everything about her on the way. I want to know everything." Bellamy said grinning from ear to ear.

"I will, but I think we ought to tell the others at some point, or they'll put two and two together and start asking questions as soon as they a see a miniature version of us running around."

"She can't look that much like us, can she?"

"Bellamy, it's ridiculously uncanny."

Bellamy laughed and squeezed her hand, and she did the same. Hand in hand they stepped out of the drop ship to meet the others. Raven's eyes moved directly to their hands then up at them.

"You two? Took you long enough," Raven said smiling.

"It's complicated," Clarke said as she looked up at Bellamy.

"It always is with you two isn't it?" John said.

"Yeah," he looked back down at her and smiled, "we still have a lot to talk about."

"Of course you do. Alright, can we go now?" Raven asked.

"In a minute. First," Clarke said. "we have to tell you guys something."


	6. chapter six

"Woah," Monty said.

"Congrats! I guess?" Harper laughed.

"Are you serious?" Raven said smiling."When?"

"Well she's four almost five-years-old."

Raven started to laugh. "How is it you manage to get pregnant when you two are off trying to save man kind from a death wave?"

"Well man kind was already in the bunker. It was the day we left. You guys were busy with the rocket while Clarke was busy with my ro-," Bellamy said with a smirk.

"Bellamy, I beg you not to finish that!" Clarke interrupted and elbowed him in the side.

"Ow," Bellamy said laughing.

"Okay, did not need to know that!" Raven said.

* * *

Bellamy looked over to his left at Clarke in the driver's seat. The others were in the back of the rover. Clarke gripped the wheel as she rotated it to the left. She turned to look at Bellamy who grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" Clarke said smiling. Her cheeks were a bright red.

"I still can't believe you're alive. Not to mention we have a daughter too," Bellamy said still grinning.

"Yeah, we do."

Clarke's smile continued to grow. She reached her arm over the center console and placed her hand on his. He immediately interlocked his fingers with hers. Clarke was no longer alone. She was no longer terrified. Bellamy was home. The truth was out there. He was ecstatic about it- about Aurora. Clarke noticed the land mark to the right of her path, and she looked at her father's watch that rested on her wrist. She had promised to be back by dark. They were about 10 minutes a way. The sun would begin to set in about twenty minutes. She would have plenty of time to spare.

"What's she like?" Bellamy eagerly asked.

"Well, she's blonde and has your curly hair and your freckles, the brightest blue eyes; and she's got the biggest smile that will light up a whole room when she walks in. She loves to play outside and loves listening to stories about you and Octavia and the rest of the hundred."

"You told her stories about me?" He was taken aback.

"Of course I did, Bellamy, you're her father," Clarke said kindly. She squeezed his hand with hers. "I wanted her to know you even if she couldn't know you."

They remained silent for a minute still holding hands.

"Oh! She speaks both English and Trig. She loves to learn. Right now we're working on identifying plants and flowers now."

"She sounds perfect," Bellamy said.

"She is."

They pulled up to the village, and the tires screeched to a halt. Clarke jumped out of the rover and walked around to let the others out of the back. They all stood and looked around in awe.

"Gah, Clarke, you can survive the death wave, but you can't learn how to drive?" John said. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Leave her alone, Murphy," Bellamy said. He smacked his arm.

"Thank you," Clarke said proudly.

"He is right though," Bellamy smirked.

"Shut up," Clarke said.

"So, I guess Praimfiya really just jumped over Louwoda Kliron," Echo said.

"Yeah, and I don't know how," Raven said.

Clarke walked over to the porch of one of the buildings to grab a few pieces of chopped wood. The sun was almost gone, and the air was growing cool. She squatted down to set the wood up in the middle of a circle lined with rocks and began to start a fire. The wood quickly caught fire and she stood up and walked to the group.

"You all have to be starving. I have a ton of berries over on that table, but that is all I have for now. I usually have fish, but it's getting too dark to try to catch some."

"Anything is better than Monty's algae soup," Harper said grinning. She jogged over to the table and began to fill her mouth with the berries.

"Still here," Monty said, "Sorry for saving you from starvation and malnutrition."

"It's okay, Monty. Your algae wasn't that bad," Raven said. She said as she through her arm around his neck. She patted him on the chest and made her way to the table. Bellamy walked up beside Monty on his way to the table.

"Oh, yes, it was," Bellamy said.

"Please, alcohol was all you ever consumed while we-," Monty said jokingly.

"Monty," Bellamy cut him off.

"Is that true?" Clarke turned around.

"I-," Bellamy started. He didn't know what to say. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He gave up on her, and he drank the last five years of his life away when she was hoping and surviving. Not once did she give up on him. Clarke and Bellamy turned their heads toward the cottage when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Nomon, Yu ste hou!" Aurora shouted. _You are home._

"I am, my little natblida. Kom op hir." Clarke said. _Come here._ She knelt down to greet the child. The child rambled in Trigedasleng about a game she played with her dolls. Clarke interrupted her. "Auri, English, please. I have someone who wants to meet you."

Aurora looked up at the man standing behind her mother. There was something familiar to her about him. He looked like the man in her mother's drawings. He was tall and had curly hair just like the drawing. Both Bellamy and Clarke noticed that she was studying his face. Suddenly, her bright smile crept across her face.

"Are you my daddy?"

"I am. Are you Aurora?" Bellamy asked smiling.

"Um, yeah. I'm not anybody else," She said with sass. Her response caused Clarke to chuckle. The child walked around her mother towards Bellamy.

Bellamy picked Aurora up, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Clarke stood up walked towards Bellamy. He wrapped his left arm around Clarke as he still held Aurora in his right arm.

"Mommy, why are you sad?" She looked down at Clarke.

"These are happy tears, goufa," Clarke said wiping her eyes. Bellamy pulled Clarke closer into him and kissed the top of her head as Clarke wrapped her arms around his waist. Aurora threw her arms around both of her parents.

They were together again. They were home. They were a family.


	7. chapter seven

They all sat around the fire telling stories and reminiscing of their first trip to Earth. Monty and Harper sat close together and shared a blanket. John and Emori did the same; in fact, they all huddled around the fire and wrapped themselves in blankets. The sun was long gone for the night, and the air was colder.

Aurora was stretched across the bench with her head in her mother's lap. Clarke ran her fingers throughout the sleeping child's hair. Her other hand was attached to Bellamy's hand.

"So you haven't been able to get to the bunker?" Harper asked.

"No. I went back to Polis once my burns started to heal and clear up. I moved a lot of the lighter blocks by hand, but then I found out I was pregnant. So, I tried dragging the rubble out with the rover until it all came crashing down, and I was back at square one. I just started going back about a month ago, but I haven't had any luck."

"and no radio contact?" Raven asked.

"nothing," Clarke said. She looked at Bellamy. "I'm sorry, Bell. I know how much you want to see Octavia."

"It's not your fault, Princess. You did everything you could," Bellamy reassured her. Clarke laid her head over on his shoulder.

"Can you, uh, help me get her in?" Clarke said gesturing to Aurora.

"Yeah," Bellamy said. He stood up and turned to face Clarke. He scooped the child up in his arms. Clarke stood and looked and everyone else.

"Um there's room in the church for you all to sleep. I've stored any extra pillows and blankets that I found in there." She bent down to pick up a small stick and turned to the fire. A small flame quickly formed. "Tomorrow we can figure something else out. I'm so happy you're all back. Goodnight guys," Clarke said before guiding Bellamy to her little cottage.

When they walked in the door, Clarke walked over and grabbed a candle. The room lit up, and Bellamy saw her little home. There were drawings of him, and Octavia, her father, Lexa, and several others that had been mounted across the walls. Clarke took the same stick stick which she had used to light the candle and tossed it into the little fireplace. She hoped the small fire would warm the house up quickly.

"Where do you want her?" Bellamy asked looking around. Clarke lead him toward a door frame. She pulled the curtain to the side so that they could both walk in.

"Her bed is here," Clarke said. Bellamy laid Aurora down on the day bed in the window sill, and Clarke laid the blanket on her. She reached across the sleeping child and closed the curtains.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and gently kissed Aurora's forehead. Bellamy stood behind her placed his hand on her shoulder. Clarke then rested her head on his hand.

"Can you believe we made that?" Clarke said. She looked up at Bellamy. They were responsible for creating a life. This child was half of her and half of him.

"I can't." They sat in silence before Bellamy spoke up again. "I-I still can't believe you're still alive, Clarke," Bellamy paused, "I should have never left you behind that day."

"Come here," Clarke said. She led him out of the room and to the cushions on the floor in front of the fire. "Sit with me." Clarke sat down, and Bellamy said beside her. "You didn't leave me behind, Bell. I chose to stay. I chose to put your life and the others' lives ahead of mine."

"Clarke-"

"I was the one with night blood. I had a better chance at surviving than any of you."

"I should have at least stayed with you."

"Bell, I couldn't let you do that."

"No, that wasn't your decision to make."

"Bellamy, you would have died, and you know that! I would have never been able to live with myself if you had died because of me."

"Well I did. I had to Clarke!" Bellamy raised his voice. The two sat in silence. He began to speak again. She could hear his voice shake from emotion. Clarke noticed that he struggled to hold back tears.

"I went day after day for five years knowing that you were dead. I drank every single day just wasting my life away. I almost didn't come back because I knew you were gone, and I knew O didn't need me."

"Bellamy," she said brokenheartedly. "I hate that I couldn't save you from that pain. I tried to let you know every single day that I was down here and alive. I didn't know if it was going to you or the bunker or just out in space, but I tried."

"I sat by the radio on the ship for a month and waited, but eventually, I-I gave up on you," Bellamy said ashamed. "You never gave up on me. Clarke, I'm so sorry," Bellamy paused, "for leaving you behind and giving up on you. I'm so sorry."

"I told you, Bell, it's not your fault. I've told you before, and I'll tell you again whenever you need to hear it. I forgive you, okay?" Clarke turned her head to look at him. "I will always forgive you."

"Okay." Bellamy nodded in agreeance. She rested her head on his shoulder.

He turned his head to look at her, and she shifted her body to face him. She sat cross legged and extended her arm to prop her body up as she leaned back. Bellamy studied her face. She looked different, but nonetheless, she was still just as, if not, somehow more beautiful than she was the day he had last seen her.

He tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. He took her face in his hands, and their eyes locked.

Bellamy broke eye contact when he noticed Clarke had parted her lips. He looked back up at her.

His heart was racing. Her heart was racing. He moved closer to her. Their lips were inches apart. The dam was ready to burst, and the years worth of emotions which had been built up were about to flood.

"God, I missed you," Bellamy whispered before crashing his lips on hers. He closed the remaining gap between them, and leaned over her. Bellamy gently laid Clarke down on the fur rug.


	8. chapter eight

Clarke rested her head in her hand which was propped up by her arm. Her other hand rested across Bellamy's bare skin. She traced circles with her finger on his chest.

"Do you think things for us will ever be normal for once?" Clarke asked. She stared at the fire before pressing her body into him for warmth. The fire was now small and continued to shrink.

"What is normal?" Bellamy questioned.

"I don't know. I mean we grew up in space on the ark. I guess that was normal to us because it was all that we knew, but even then you and I grew up in two different worlds."

"What do you think normal is like?" Bellamy asked.

"Peaceful. We wouldn't have to constantly look over our shoulders. We're not separated from anyone we love. We could stop surviving and finally start living."

"That's how I had imagined us for the last five years if you had made it back. Aside from being separated from my sister and your mom, at least we would have been together. We would have had the chance to be us all those years without all the fighting and surviving. Had I known, I would've been there to hold your hair back every single time you were sick. I would've held your hand every step of the way and through every contraction."

She laid her head on his chest and moved her body closer to his. Bellamy wrapped his arm around her waist. He took his free arm and pushed the fallen strands of hair out of her face.

"God, you're so brave, Princess."

"I wasn't," Clarke whispered. "I was so scared, Bell. I mean I was absolutely terrified that something and everything would go wrong. I needed you then more than ever."

"I know, Princess. It kills me that I couldn't be there."

"The radiation would have killed you from the very start," Clarke said. They sat in silence, and Clarke spoke up. "You know, every day I imagined what it would have been like if you were a nightblood and had stayed."

"and what was that like?" Bellamy asked. Clarke laid on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Almost the same as what you pictured on the ark. We were a family, and we settled down for those five years of peace. Maybe even longer, but you know how things tend to go."

"See, now I could get used to settling down with you," Bellamy said with a smile. Clarke let out a small laugh.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really," Bellamy said. He turned onto his side to face her. "I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with you and our kids."

"Kids?" Clarke asked. "You would want that?"

"Yeah," Bellamy said. He reached across the small space between them and placed his hand on her arm. He ran his thumb across her skin.

"It doesn't have to be anytime soon; Maybe later down the road, you know. I mean, we just found each other, and I just met Auri. I fell in love with her the moment you told me about her, but I want it all. I want to marry you, and I want a family- one that I don't have to hide in the floor, one that I don't have to miss out on. They don't have to be anytime soon if that's not what you want right now, but just know that I want all of that with you."

She grinned, "I want that too. Every bit of what you just said."

"Good," he said before crashing his lips onto hers. They broke apart. Clarke shivered and sat up to reach for a fur to use as a blanket. "So marry me."

His words lingered in the air. She hadn't expected him to say it so soon.

"Okay!" Clarke said with a smile.

"Okay? I come home after six years of us being separated, ask you to marry me, and you say okay? Really Princess?" Bellamy teased. His grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Yes!" Clarke laughed. Bellamy leaned over her and smiled. Clarke raised her arm and pulled his head closer to her face.

"Nomon?"

Clarke and Bellamy jumped and pulled the blanket over themselves. Clarke hadn't realized how loud they had been talking and must have woken Aurora.

"What's wrong, Goufa?"

"I'm getting cold," The child complained in Trigedasleng. She stood at the doorway.

"Go back to bed, and Nontu will take care of it," Clarke explained. Aurora turned and walked into her room. "That was close!" Clarke giggled. "The fire is almost out," She said. "We should probably get dressed and in bed before someone finds us frozen or like this."

"They'll get over it," he whined. Bellamy leaned over her and kissed her. "They've all seen worse." He kissed her repeatedly until she put a finger up to his lips. He leaned back and sighed.

"Yes, but we have a daughter. We don't want to scar her- again," Clarke emphasized.

"Fine," Bellamy whined as he stood up. He helped Clarke up, and they both searched for her clothes. "You just wait until tomorrow night."

Bellamy smirked as he pulled his boxers on. Clarke smiled as she pulled her T-shirt over her head. When her shirt came over her head, her lips were met by Bellamy's lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She pulled back.

"There's extra wood by the door," Clarke said. She pointed in that direction. Bellamy threw his head back and cursed aloud.

"Princess," he whined. He walked over to the wood and tossed it into the fireplace. Meanwhile, Clarke peaked around the curtain to check on Aurora.

"Now, take me to bed, Bellamy Blake."

"Don't have to tell me twice, Princess." Bellamy smiled. Clarke through her arms around his neck. He wrapped one arm around her back, and he placed the other arm under the bend of her knee before picking her up. Bellamy walked over to the bed, laid her down, and climbed in on the other side. He wrapped his arm around her tiny waist, and pulled her body closer into him. He felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"Nontu? Can I sleep with you and Nomon?"

"Come here," Bellamy said. He couldn't say no. So, he pulled her into the bed between him and Clarke.

"You're the one that's getting kicked tonight," Clarke said with a grin. She knew Aurora kicked and tossed and turned in her sleep as any child did. Bellamy, however, didn't care.

He had his daughter and the love of his life with him. It was the family he never knew he needed.

When he met Clarke that first day on earth, he never thought that the annoying, privileged princess of the Ark would be anything different from that, much less be the mother of his child and the love of his life. Somehow, though, she managed to change his perspective of life on the ground and his perspective of her.

When she met Bellamy, he was the Rebel King who pissed her off and did whatever the hell he wanted. She believed there was good in him behind that wall of his. All of those years, she refused to believe she cared for him because love was weakness, but she was wrong. Lexa was wrong; it was strength.

Love gave her a reason to fight for her life. Love gave her a reason to survive, to live. Love brought them back together. Unexpectedly, love made them a family.


End file.
